“Howl!” he roared, filling the chimney with blueflame. “Howl! Howell Jenkins, the Witch has found yoursister’s family!”

There were two violent thumps overhead. Howl’s bedroom doorcrashed and Howl came tearing downstairs. Lettie and Percival werehurled out of his way. Fanny screamed faintly at the sight of him.Howl’s hair was like a haystack and there were red rims roundhis eyes. “Got me on my weak flank, blast her!” heshouted as he shot across the room with his black sleeves flying.“I was afraid she would! Thanks, Calcifer!” He shovedFanny aside and hauled open the door.

Sophie heard the door bang behind Howl as she hobbled upstairs.She knew it was nosy, but she had to see what happened. As shehobbled through Howl’s bedroom, she heard everyone elsefollowing her.

“What a filthy room!” Fanny exclaimed.

Sophie looked out the window. It was drizzling in the neat garden.The swing was hung with drops. The Witch’s waving mane of redhair was all dewed with it. She stood leaning against the swing, talland commanding in her red robes, beckoning and beckoning again.Howl’s niece, Mari, was shuffling over the wet grass toward theWitch. She did not look as if she wanted to go, but she seemed tohave no choice. Behind her, Howl’s nephew, Neil, was shufflingtoward the Witch even more slowly, glowering in his most ferociousway. And Howl’s sister, Megan, was behind the two children.Sophie could se Megan’s arms gesturing and Megan’s mouthopening and shutting. She was clearly giving the Witch a piece of hermind, but she was being drawn toward the Witch too.

Howl burst out onto the lawn. He had not bothered to alter hisclothes. He did not bother to do any magic. He just charged straightat the Witch. The Witch made a grab for Mari, but Mari was still toofar away. Howl got to Mari first, slung her behind him, and chargedon. And the Witch ran. She ran. Like a cat with a dog after it,across the lawn and over the neat fence, in a flurry of flame-coloredrobes, with Howl, like the chasing dog, a foot or so behind andclosing. The Witch vanished over the fence in a red blur. Howl wentafter her in a black blur with trailing sleeves. Then the fence hidboth of them from sight.

“I hope he catches her,” said Martha. “Thelittle girl’s crying.”

Down below, Megan put her arm round Mari and took both childrenindoors. There was no knowing what had happened to Howl and theWitch. Lettie and Percival and Martha and Michael went backdownstairs. Fanny and Mrs. Fairfax were transfixed with disgust atthe state of Howl’s bedroom.

“Look at those spiders!” Mrs. Fairfax said.

“And the dust on these curtains!” said Fanny.“Annabel, I saw some brooms in that passage you camethrough.”

“Let’s get them,” said Mrs. Fairfax.“I’ll pin that dress up for you, Fanny, and we’llget to work. I can’t bear a room to be in thisstate!”

Oh, poor Howl! Sophie thought. He does love those spiders! Shehovered on the stairs, wondering how to stop Mrs. Fairfax andFanny.

From downstairs, Michael called, “Sophie! We’re goingto look round the mansion. Want to come?”

That seemed the ideal thing to stop the two ladies from cleaning.Sophie called to Fanny and hobbled hurriedly downstairs. Lettie andPercival were already opening the door. Lettie had not listened whenSophie explained it to Fanny. And it was clear that Percival did notunderstand either. Sophie saw they were opening it purple-down bymistake. They got it open as Sophie hobbled across the room to putthem right.

The scarecrow loomed up in the doorway against the flowers.

“Shut it!” Sophie screamed. She saw what hadhappened. She had actually helped the scarecrow last night by tellingit to go ten times as fast. It had simply sped to the castle entranceand tried to get in there. But Miss Angorian was out there. Sophiewondered if she was lying in the bushes in a dead faint. “No,don’t,” she said weakly.

No one was attending to her anyway. Lettie’s face was thecolor of Fanny’s dress, and she was clutching Martha. Percivalwas standing and staring, and Michael was trying to catch the skull,which was yattering its teeth so hard that it was threatening to falloff the bench and take a wine bottle with it. And the skull seemed tohave a strange effect on the guitar too. It was giving out long,humming twangs: Noumm harrumm! Noumm Harrumm!

Calcifer flamed up the chimney again. “The thing isspeaking,” he said to Sophie. “It is saying it means noharm. I think it is speaking the truth. It is waiting for yourpermission to come in.”

Certainly the scarecrow was just standing there. It was not tryingto barge inside as it had before. And Calcifer must have trusted it.He had stopped the castle moving. Sophie looked at the turnip faceand the fluttering rags. It was not so frightening after all. She hadonce had fellow feeling for it. She rather suspected that she hadmade it into a convenient excuse for not leaving the castle becauseshe had really wanted to stay. Now there was no point. Sophie had toleave anyway. Howl preferred Miss Angorian.

“Please come in,” she said, a little croakily.

“Ahmmng!” said the guitar. The scarecrow surged intothe room with one powerful sideways hop. It stood swinging about onits one leg as if it was looking for something. The smell of flowersit had brought in with it did not hide its own smell of dust androtting turnip.

The skull yattered under Michael’s fingers again. Thescarecrow spun round, gladly, and fell sideways toward it. Michaelmade one attempt to rescue the skull and then got hastily out of theway. For as the scarecrow fell across the bench, there came a fizzingjolt of strong magic and the skull melted into the scarecrow’sturnip head. It seemed to get inside the turnip and fill it out.There was now a strong suggestion of a rather craggy face on theturnip. The trouble was, it was on the back side of the scarecrow.The scarecrow gave a wooden scramble, hopped upright uncertainly, andthen swiftly spun its body round so that the front of it was underthe craggy turnip face. Slowly it eased its outstretched arms down toits sides.

“Now I can speak,” it said in a somewhat mushyvoice.

“I may faint,” Fanny announced, on the stairs.

“Nonsense,” Mrs. Fairfax said, behind Fanny.“The thing’s only a magician’s golem. It has to dowhat it was sent to do. They’re quite harmless.”

Lettie, all the same, looked ready to faint. But the only one whodid faint was Percival. He flopped to the floor, quite quietly, andlay curled up as if he were asleep. Lettie, in spite of her terror,ran toward him, only to back away as the scarecrow gave another hopand stood itself in front of Percival.

“This is one of the parts I was sent to find,” it saidin its mushy voice. It swung on its stick until it was facing Sophie.“I must thank you,” it said. “My skull was far awayand I ran out of strength before I reached it. I would have lain inthat hedge forever if you had not come and talked life intome.” It swiveled to Mrs. Fairfax and then to Lettie. “Ithank you both too,” it said.

“Who sent you? What are you supposed to do?” Sophiesaid.

The scarecrow swung about uncertainly. “More thanthis,” it said. “There are still parts missing.”Everyone waited, most of them too shaken to speak, while thescarecrow rotated this way and that, seemingly thinking.

“What is Percival a part of?” Sophie said.

“Let it collect itself,” said Calcifer. “Noone’s asked it to explain itself bef—” He suddenlystopped speaking and shrank until barely a green flame showed.Michael and Sophie exchanged alarmed glances.

Then a new voice spoke, out of nowhere. It was enlarged andmuffled, as it if it were speaking in a box, but it was unmistakablythe voice of the Witch. “Michael Fisher,” it said,“tell your master, Howl, that he fell for my decoy. I now have the woman called Lily Angorian in my fortress in the Waste. Tell him Iwill only let her go if he himself comes to fetch her. Is that clear,Michael Fisher?”